a/n: This story is looking up...I'm surprising myself as I go along, it seems. (Oh, and a quick note: Chuckie and Kimi won't be related in this story.)

(Kimi's journal)

Dear journal,

The prince is strangely dissatisfied with me. We walked in the palace gardens earlier today. He told me that he didn't want to go through with the wedding. I said, "Neither do I, but I suppose it's our fate." He asked me if I could keep a secret. I replied, "Yes. Why do you ask?" He said that he was going to run away in the middle of the night.

(reality)

Princess Kimi looked up from her writing. A servant stood there. "Yes?"

"Your Highness, the King and Queen are replacing your servants with two workers from just outside London."

"What!" Kimi looked at her two servants, Keiko and Yoshi, with their belongings packed up.

"I don't make the rules, I only enforce them." And the anonymous servant led Kimi's loyal servants out the door.

Later on, the same anonymous servant knocked on the door. Kimi answered it.

"Your new servants are here." He led two strangely familiar teenagers into the room. "Philip and Lillian DeVille will serve you from now on." The servant rushed out the door.

Lil was the first to speak. "Your Highness, I am glad that we meet again. I suppose you remember my brother." She gestured towards Phil, who was leaning on a crutch.

Kimi answered, "Yes. But why was he lying in the road yesterday?"

"That is a good question, one for which I have no answer."

(later that night)

Phil and Lil were sleeping in the servant's quarters just near the horse stables. A faint sound of someone walking around outside awoke Lil. "Who's there?"

Tommy, who was wearing a long brown cloak, answered, "Sorry I woke you up. I'm just borrowing a horse."

"It's the middle of the night! Who are you anyways?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Fine. Then I'll just take this horse from you."

"What!"

"You're not taking the horse unless I know you're not a thief or a robber or anything like that."

"On the contrary, miss." Tommy lit a torch nearby to light the room. "I'm Prince Thomas."

Lil was startled. "Your Highness! Take the horse and leave a lowly servant be!"

Tommy was a bit confused. "You're not really one of the servants. You're too pretty."

"Believe me, I am just a peasant. My brother and I were hired to work for Princess Kimi."

Tommy answered, "Princess Kimi? The one I'm being forced to marry in three weeks?"

"I suppose so." Lil was getting confused herself. Forced to marry?

"What's your name?" Tommy inquired.

"Lillian DeVille. But you can call me Lil."

"Oh...You know, I'm getting a bit tired. I was going to take the horse to run away from the arranged marriage, but I should've slept during the day. Do you know of anywhere I could sleep tonight? It's a long way back up to my rooms in the palace."

"Sure, there's a spare bed in the room down the hall."

"Thank you!" Tommy climbed in the window after tying the horse to a tree outside.

(the next morning)

Princess Kimi awoke to the sound of a shrill voice yelling. It was Baroness Angelica, in her room across the hall. Surely Angelica wouldn't be screaming to herself, Kimi thought. She opened her door and saw Angelica with her childhood friend, Susie. Susie was the daughter of an ambassador from Eastern Africa. Kimi put her ear up to the door to hear more.

"...And WHY would my cousin be marrying Princess Kimi? Why, you ask? Because of the blasted peace treaty offered by the Empress of Japan! So their peace offering is some shy, completely innocent girl, who's supposed to marry my idiot of a cousin? Surely there must be some other way to have peace with the Japanese!" Kimi cringed. Was there something about Tommy she didn't know? Kimi heard another voice start talking.

"Angelica, Tommy isn't really all that idiotic, is he? This marriage will be good for your country and Princess Kimi's. The way you present it, there is no hope for either of them. I agree with you. Surely there MUST be another way to make peace with Japan." Kimi's heart jumped inside her. Would this mean that she wouldn't have to marry Prince Tommy against her will?

a/n: You guessed it: I need reviews.